What is the Price of Liberty? Find out in Montclair at Montclair History Center

Film & Discussion series on race, segregation and civil rights

Learn about Henrietta Lacks, and her contributions to civil rights.

Posted
2/14/18

For the fifth year in a row, the Montclair History Center will be hosting The Price of Liberty, a film and discussion series on issues related to race, segregation, integration, and Civil Rights. This year’s program explores the intersection of race and science through film and thoughtful discussion. The films featured in 2018 are Hidden Figures, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Forgotten Genius. This year, the Montclair History Center is partnering with Montclair Film. It is funded by the New Jersey Historical Commission and administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

The films will each be shown twice: the matinee program will be held at the Montclair Public Library, 50 S. Fullerton Avenue; the evening program will be held at Montclair Film’s Cinema505, 505 Bloomfield Avenue. Each program is moderated by a humanities scholar who introduces the film and leads a discussion on the film’s topic. All programs are free to the public and light refreshments will be served. No advance registration is required. For additional information, please contact the Montclair History Center at 973-744-1796 or mail@montclairhistorical.org.

The series begins with Hidden Figures, which unpacks the story of the brilliant women featured in the film and the discrimination they faced at NASA. Screening and discussion of Hidden Figures will take place Thursday, February 15 from 1 to 4 pm at the Montclair Public Library (50 South Fullerton Avenue) and Tuesday, February 27 from 7 to 10 pm at Montclair Film’s Cinema505 (505 Bloomfield Avenue). Lillie Edwards, PhD, a Montclair resident and Professor Emeritus at Drew University, is the program’s moderator .

The series continues with the HBO hit The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which explores the medical ethics associated with her cancer cells and the resulting medical breakthroughs that change medicine forever. Screening and discussion of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will take place Thursday, March 15 from 1 to 4 pm at the Montclair Public Library (50 South Fullerton Avenue) and Tuesday, March 20 from 7 to 10 pm at Montclair Film’s Cinema505 (505 Bloomfield Avenue). This program is also moderated by Lillie Edwards, PhD.

The series concludes with the screening of Forgotten Genius, a documentary about Percy Julius, a chemist who overcame countless obstacles to become a world-class scientist, a self-made millionaire, and a civil-rights pioneer. Screening and discussion of Forgotten Genius will take place Thursday, April 19 from 1 to 4 pm at the Montclair Public Library (50 South Fullerton Avenue) and Tuesday, April 17 from 7 to 10 pm at Montclair Film’s Cinema505 (505 Bloomfield Avenue). This program is moderated by Montclair State University History Professor Leslie Wilson, PhD.